One of the nation’s most important topics, the economy, was the focus of the Millsaps College Else School of Management’s Fall Forum on October 6. Students, faculty and staff, and community members heard an update from three experts with city, state, and regional perspectives.
“This is a recession brought on by pervasive financial distrust – issues that were not in place 80 years ago,” said Thomas J. Cunningham, vice president and associate director of research of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “The big difference in today’s recession is the way the losses have been distributed.
“The rules of the game have changed since the 1930s. When the economy started getting bad, people stopped consuming. An increase in savings created a decrease in consumption. We don’t think people are going to ever go back to the running-up-of-debt mentality. One reason is because lending institutions are not going to let them.”
John H. Turner, director of economic development for Entergy Mississippi, explained that the arrival of Mississippi’s recession lagged behind other states. “Because we are about seven to eight months behind the rest of the nation, we worry that we will be an extra seven to eight months coming out of it. We have a lot of businesses that are teetering and just trying to hold on.”
On a positive note, however, Turner told the audience that Mississippi has many projects in the hopper that may come to fruition in the coming months. “There’s a lot going on. I feel like if we can continue to be active and aggressive, we can bring these projects to the state. The impact of energy will be a critical factor for moving forward. Areas with affordable and reliable electricity will be a big part of our new generation.”
Ben Allen, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, talked about the importance of creating an urban lifestyle. “Young people want to live in an urban environment. That is why 75 percent of our students who graduate in the top third of their classes leave the state.”
Allen is working to renovate downtown Jackson and the Farish Street area. He said the King Edward Hotel will reopen as the Hilton Garden Inn in the next few months. “With the revitalization of downtown Jackson, in five years, you won’t recognize us,” he said.
